Colby Covington has built a reputation based as much on trash talk as his fighting abilities, but one family believes he’s crossed well past the line of decency.
The surviving daughters of Blackzilians founder Glenn Robinson, who died in September 2018, believe Covington went too far in trying to promote next week’s UFC 245 clash with welterweight champion Kamaru Usman, who trained with the Blackzilians for much of his career.
At a November press conference in New York, Covington accused Usman of playing a role in Robinson’s death, saying that he “gave Glenn a heart attack from all those years you were ducking me.” It’s a line Covington has used before, but this time he punctuated it with an even more audacious statement, claiming that Robinson would be “watching from hell on Dec. 14.”
Robinson’s daughters, who requested their names be withheld, reached out to MMA Junkie to offer a public reply. While admitting they didn’t necessarily want to take part in Covington’s promotional strategy, Robinson’s daughters said they felt compelled to speak out on behalf of their father.
“It saddens us to even have to make a statement regarding a previous distasteful comment Colby Covington made suggesting our late father, Glenn Robinson, will be watching his upcoming fight from hell. However, after careful thought and consideration, on behalf of our family, we feel it is necessary to defend our father’s name.
“The death of our father is still very raw. Our family is still grieving from his loss, so imagine the hurt we felt to hear such hateful words recklessly said about our father.
“We understand the excitement of building up hype before a fight, but we are sure Colby Covington can get press for his upcoming fight on his own merit and without spewing hateful words towards our father, the founder of the Blackzilians. In fact, our father was the exact opposite of a hateful person. He gave countless opportunities to many people, both personally and professionally. He consistently put everyone else’s best interests before his own. Our father died too young, but we can proudly say he accomplished more during his short life than many others do in a full lifetime.
“Lastly, we did not want to make this statement or to breathe more life into someone that truly has no relevance in our lives, but we will always defend our father, his reputation and his name, the one we share proudly.”
–Written by the daughters of the late Glenn Robinson
At the New York press conference, Covington went on to accuse former Blackzilians Anthony Johnson, Rashad Evans and Alistair Overeem of using steroids, while asserting that Usman has been using synthetic erythropoietin (EPO), a substance often utilized in blood doping that is banned at all times by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency, the UFC’s official anti-doping partner.
At the time, Usman declined to address the comments directly, instead feigning a yawn before pointing to UFC 245 as the moment all will be settled.
“It doesn’t matter,” Usman said. “Dec. 14, you’re going to be locked in a cage across from me, then you’re going to realize (expletive) gets real.”
UFC 245 takes place Dec. 14 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The main card airs on pay-per-view, following prelims on ESPN2 and ESPN+. Usman (15-1 MMA, 10-0 UFC) and Covington (15-1 MMA, 10-1 UFC) meet in the night’s main event.
Glenn Robinson's daughters to Colby Covington: Don't use our father's death to promote UFC 245